Community
Hoboken Partners With HERO Campaign to Combat Drunk Driving
Hoboken Mayor Emily B. Jabbour announced Tuesday the city’s partnership with the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign, a New Jersey nonprofit dedicated to preventing drunk and impaired driving through the promotion of designated drivers. Hoboken is described in the press release as the first major city in the North Jersey-New York metropolitan area to adopt the campaign citywide.
“We are proud to partner with the HERO Campaign and promote its life-saving mission,” Jabbour said. She added that participating bars and restaurants will offer free soft drinks to designated drivers, and that residents can take the HERO Pledge by scanning QR codes on posters and signs throughout the city to receive a digital HERO ID card redeemable at participating establishments.
A Hoboken police patrol vehicle wrapped in the campaign’s blue and gold colors and the slogan “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver” was unveiled at the event. Funding for the vehicle wrap was provided by a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Public Safety Commissioner Ken Ferrante said officers will also distribute HERO decals for motorists to display on their rear car windows.
Bill Elliott, co-founder of the HERO Campaign and father of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott, attended the ceremony. “We are honored to partner with Hoboken on our practical and positive approach to preventing drunk driving,” Bill Elliott said. “Designated drivers save lives and are a perfect reflection of John’s desire to help others and serve his country.”
The HERO Campaign was established in memory of John R. Elliott, who was killed by a drunk driver in July 2000, two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. His death led to the passage of John’s Law in New Jersey in 2001, which requires police to impound vehicles of suspected drunk drivers for 12 hours. More than 700,000 vehicles have been impounded under the law since its passage.
